2023 Miami Dolphins season

Last updated

2023 Miami Dolphins season
Owner Stephen M. Ross
General manager Chris Grier
Head coach Mike McDaniel
Home field Hard Rock Stadium
Results
Record11–6
Division place2nd AFC East
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs
(at Chiefs) 7–26
Pro Bowlers QB Tua Tagovailoa
RB Raheem Mostert
FB Alec Ingold
WR Tyreek Hill
OT Terron Armstead
CB Jalen Ramsey
All-Pros WR Tyreek Hill (1st team)
Uniform
Miamidolphins uniforms13.png

The 2023 season was the Miami Dolphins' 54th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 58th overall, their eighth under general manager Chris Grier and their second under head coach Mike McDaniel.

Contents

The Dolphins improved upon their 9–8 record from the previous two seasons after a Week 15 win over the New York Jets. With a win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 16, they clinched a playoff spot for a second consecutive season. Despite leading the Buffalo Bills by three games with five to play, the Dolphins faltered late in the season and, combined with the Bills going undefeated since the bye, put AFC East control in their Week 18 matchup. In that game, the Dolphins lost to the Bills, giving the Bills the division. The loss meant 2008 would remain the most recent season the Dolphins won the AFC East. Throughout the year, the Dolphins were noted to struggle to beat teams with winning records. [1]

The Dolphins once again failed to win a playoff game, not having done so since 2000, losing to the eventual repeat Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in a 26–7 loss in one of the coldest games in NFL history. This game was Tyreek Hill, Justin Houston, Melvin Ingram, and Emmanuel Ogbah's return to Arrowhead. With the Detroit Lions defeating the Los Angeles Rams and advancing to the NFC Divisional round the following day, the Dolphins officially hold the longest active playoff victory drought in the NFL.

In their Week 3 70–20 victory over the Denver Broncos, the Dolphins became the first NFL team to score 70 points in a game since 1966. [2] This was the second most points scored in a regular-season game all time. [3]

The Miami Dolphins drew an average home attendance of 65,922 in 9 home games in the 2023 NFL season. [4]

Offseason

On January 19, 2023, the Dolphins parted ways with defensive coordinator Josh Boyer. [5]

After firing Boyer, the Dolphins signed long time defensive coordinator Vic Fangio (well known for his defense being consistently ranked top 5 in major categories) to a contract making him the highest paid defensive coordinator in the NFL. [6] [7]

On March 12, the Dolphins agreed in principle to a trade with the Los Angeles Rams in which they acquired six-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey in exchange for tight end Hunter Long and a 2023 3rd round pick. The Rams used the pick to select Tennessee defensive end Byron Young. The trade was officially announced 3 days later after the start of the NFL league year. [8] [9]

Free agent signings

Free agent signings in the 2023 Miami Dolphins season
PositionPlayerAge2022 TeamContract
QB Mike White 28 New York Jets 2 years, $8 million
ILB David Long Jr. 26 Tennessee Titans 2 years, $11 million
OLB Malik Reed 26 Pittsburgh Steelers 1 year, $1 million
WR Braxton Berrios 27 New York Jets 1 year, $3.5 million
FS DeShon Elliott 26 Detroit Lions 1 year, $1 million
TE Eric Saubert 29 Denver Broncos 1 year, $1 million
G Dan Feeney 28 New York Jets 1 year, $3.25 million
P Jake Bailey 25 New England Patriots 1 year, $1 million
T Isaiah Wynn 27 New England Patriots 1 year, $1 million
T Cedric Ogbuehi 31 New York Jets 1 year, $1 million

Draft

Draft trades

  1. ↑ The Dolphins forfeited their first-round selection as well as a 2024 third-round selection as punishment for multiple violations of the league's anti-tampering policy in conversations with quarterback Tom Brady and Don Yee, the agent for then-New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton (as well as Brady).
  2. ↑ The Dolphins traded a first-round selection (29th overall), a 2024 fourth-round selection and RB Chase Edmonds to the Denver Broncos in exchange for a 2025 fifth-round selection and LB Bradley Chubb.
  3. ↑ The Dolphins traded a 2021 first-round pick (3rd overall) to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a first-round pick (29th overall), a 2021 first-round pick (12th overall), and 2022 first- and third-round picks (29th and 102nd overall).
  4. ↑ The Dolphins traded a third-round selection (77th overall) and TE Hunter Long to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for CB Jalen Ramsey.
  5. ↑ The Dolphins traded a 2022 fifth-round selection and WR DeVante Parker to the New England Patriots in exchange for a third-round selection (77th overall).
  6. 1 2 The Dolphins traded fourth- and sixth-round selections (122nd and 178th overall), and 2022 first, second, and fourth-round selections to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for WR Tyreek Hill.
  7. ↑ The Dolphins traded a fifth-round selection (155th overall) to San Francisco 49ers in exchange for RB Jeff Wilson.
  8. ↑ The Dolphins traded WR Jakeem Grant to the Chicago Bears in exchange for a sixth-round selection (178th overall).

Staff

2023 Miami Dolphins staff

Front office

  • Chairman/managing general partner – Stephen Ross
  • Vice chairman/partner – Bruce Beal
  • Vice chairman – Jorge Pérez
  • Vice chairman – Matt Higgins
  • Vice chairman, president, and CEO – Tom Garfinkel
  • General manager – Chris Grier
  • Assistant general manager – Marvin Allen
  • Vice president, football administration – Brandon Shore
  • Senior vice president, chief financial officer – Chris Clements
  • Senior personnel executive – Reggie McKenzie
  • Co-director, player personnel – Adam Engroff
  • Co-director, player personnel – Anthony Hunt
  • Director of college scouting – Matt Winston
  • Senior scout – Jim Abrams
  • Special advisor to the vice chairman, president, and CEO – Dan Marino

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches
  • Defensive coordinator – Vic Fangio
  • Defensive line – Austin Clark
  • Assistant defensive line – Kenny Baker
  • Linebackers – Anthony Campanile
  • Outside linebackers – Ryan Slowik
  • Passing game coordinator/secondary – Renaldo Hill
  • Cornerbacks/pass game specialist – Sam Madison
  • Safeties – Joe Kasper
  • Assistant defensive backs – Mathieu Araujo
  • Senior assistant – Wade Harman
  • Defensive assistant – Steve Donatell

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams coordinator – Danny Crossman
  • Assistant special teams – Brendan Farrell

Strength and conditioning

  • Head strength and conditioning – Dave Puloka
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Adam Lachance


Final roster

2023 Miami Dolphins roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

 Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

 Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad

Reserve

Rookies in italics
53 active, 11 reserve, 16 practice squad (+1 exempt)

Preseason

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueRecap
1August 11 Atlanta Falcons L 3–190–1 Hard Rock Stadium Recap
2August 19at Houston Texans W 28–31–1 NRG Stadium Recap
3August 26 [A] at Jacksonville Jaguars L 18–311–2 EverBank Stadium Recap

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueRecap
1 September 10at Los Angeles Chargers W 36–341–0 SoFi Stadium Recap
2 September 17at New England Patriots W 24–172–0 Gillette Stadium Recap
3 September 24 Denver Broncos W 70–203–0 Hard Rock Stadium Recap
4 October 1at Buffalo Bills L 20–483–1 Highmark Stadium Recap
5 October 8 New York Giants W 31–164–1Hard Rock Stadium Recap
6 October 15 Carolina Panthers W 42–215–1Hard Rock Stadium Recap
7 October 22at Philadelphia Eagles L 17–315–2 Lincoln Financial Field Recap
8 October 29 New England Patriots W 31–176–2Hard Rock Stadium Recap
9 November 5 at Kansas City Chiefs L 14–216–3 Flag of Germany.svg Deutsche Bank Park (Frankfurt) Recap
10 Bye
11 November 19 Las Vegas Raiders W 20–137–3Hard Rock Stadium Recap
12 November 24at New York Jets W 34–138–3 MetLife Stadium Recap
13 December 3at Washington Commanders W 45–159–3 FedExField Recap
14 December 11 Tennessee Titans L 27–289–4Hard Rock Stadium Recap
15 December 17 New York Jets W 30–010–4Hard Rock Stadium Recap
16 December 24 Dallas Cowboys W 22–2011–4Hard Rock Stadium Recap
17 December 31at Baltimore Ravens L 19–5611–5 M&T Bank Stadium Recap
18 January 7 Buffalo Bills L 14–2111–6Hard Rock Stadium Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Los Angeles Chargers

Week 1: Miami Dolphins at Los Angeles Chargers – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Dolphins7137936
Chargers71071034

at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California

Game information

In a back-and-forth affair, the Dolphins got the better of the matchup, beating the Chargers 36–34. The Dolphins started off the season 1–0.

Week 2: at New England Patriots

Week 2: Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Dolphins3140724
Patriots0301417

at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Game information

Week 3: vs. Denver Broncos

Week 3: Denver Broncos at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Broncos760720
Dolphins1421142170

at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

  • Date: September 24
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Partly cloudy, 86 °F (30 °C)
  • Game attendance: 65,522
  • Referee: Clay Martin
  • TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan, Trent Green and Melanie Collins
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

The 70 points scored by the Dolphins are the highest by any team since 1966, and tied with the third highest points scored in NFL history. Miami had the opportunity to tie the single-game points record with 33 seconds remaining, [11] but opted to kneel the football instead of attempting a 45-yard field goal. [12] In addition to the 70 points scored, the Dolphins had 726 total yards, the second-most in league history, behind only the mark of 735 set by the Los Angeles Rams in a 1951 game against the New York Yanks. [13] They also became the first team in NFL history to gain 350 rushing and 350 passing yards in one game, and also are the first team in NFL history to score 5 passing and 5 rushing touchdowns in the same game.

Week 4: at Buffalo Bills

Week 4: Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Dolphins776020
Bills141710748

at Highmark Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

Game information

A week after their historic performance, the Dolphins lost their first game of the regular season, falling to 3–1.

Week 5: vs. New York Giants

Week 5: New York Giants at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Giants0103316
Dolphins71014031

at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

Game information

Week 6: vs. Carolina Panthers

Week 6: Carolina Panthers at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Panthers1400721
Dolphins02171442

at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

  • Date: October 15
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Sunny, 87 °F (31 °C)
  • Game attendance: 65,529
  • Referee: Craig Wrolstad
  • TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan, Trent Green and Melanie Collins
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 7: at Philadelphia Eagles

Week 7: Miami Dolphins at Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Dolphins377017
Eagles3147731

at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

  • Date: October 22
  • Game time: 8:20 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Partly cloudy, 55 °F (13 °C)
  • Game attendance: 69,879
  • Referee: Brad Allen
  • TV announcers (NBC): Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth and Melissa Stark
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 8: vs. New England Patriots

Week 8: New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Patriots703717
Dolphins7107731

at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

Game information

Week 9: at Kansas City Chiefs

NFL Germany games

Week 9: Miami Dolphins at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Dolphins0014014
Chiefs7140021

at Deutsche Bank Park, Frankfurt, Germany

Game information

This was Tyreek Hill's first game against the team he had once played for. This was also the second ever NFL game played in Germany, the previous one being the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Seattle Seahawks game just a year prior.

Week 11: vs. Las Vegas Raiders

Week 11: Las Vegas Raiders at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Raiders1030013
Dolphins776020

at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

  • Date: November 19
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Partly cloudy, 82 °F (28 °C)
  • Game attendance: 66,026
  • Referee: Bill Vinovich
  • TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan, Trent Green and Melanie Collins
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 12: at New York Jets

Week 12: Miami Dolphins at New York Jets – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Dolphins31431434
Jets060713

at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Game information

Week 13: at Washington Commanders

Week 13: Miami Dolphins at Washington Commanders – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Dolphins17147745
Commanders078015

at FedExField, Landover, Maryland

Game information

Week 14: vs. Tennessee Titans

Week 14: Tennessee Titans at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Titans01031528
Dolphins7031727

at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

Game information

With 4:34 to go in the game, the Dolphins had a 27–13 lead and a 99.7% chance of winning the game by one measure. The Titans drove the ball 75 yards in the span of less than two minutes to narrow the lead to six after a successful two-point conversion. Miami had the ball back with 2:40 to go but had three middling run plays result in them having to punt the ball to Tennessee with 2:15 to go because the Titans managed to call two of their timeouts. The Titans drove 64 yards in four plays that resulted in a Derrick Henry touchdown to give them the lead with 1:45 to go. The Dolphins started at their own 26-yard line with the ball but moved just 19 yards before turning it over on downs. With the loss, the Dolphins became the first team to blow a lead of at least 14 points in the final three minutes in regulation. [14] [15]

Week 15: vs. New York Jets

Week 15: New York Jets at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Jets00000
Dolphins7173330

at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

  • Date: December 17
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Partly cloudy, 76 °F (24 °C)
  • Game attendance: 65,967
  • Referee: Brad Rogers
  • TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz, Tony Romo and Tracy Wolfson
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 16: vs. Dallas Cowboys

Week 16: Dallas Cowboys at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Cowboys7031020
Dolphins3106322

at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

Game information

Week 17: at Baltimore Ravens

Week 17: Miami Dolphins at Baltimore Ravens – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Dolphins1030619
Ravens72172156

at M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

Game information

Week 18: vs. Buffalo Bills

Week 18: Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Bills0701421
Dolphins0140014

at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

  • Date: January 7
  • Game time: 8:20 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Partly cloudy, 63 °F (17 °C)
  • Game attendance: 66,292
  • Referee: Alex Kemp
  • TV announcers (NBC): Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth and Melissa Stark
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Standings

Division

AFC East
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
(2) Buffalo Bills 1160.6474–27–5451311W5
(6) Miami Dolphins 1160.6474–27–5496391L2
New York Jets 7100.4122–44–8268355W1
New England Patriots 4130.2352–44–8236366L2

Conference

AFC
#TeamDivisionWLTPCTDIVCONFSOSSOVSTK
Division leaders
1 Baltimore Ravens North1340.7653–38–4.543.529L1
2 [a] [b] Buffalo Bills East1160.6474–27–5.471.471W5
3 [a] Kansas City Chiefs West1160.6474–29–3.481.428W2
4 Houston Texans South1070.5884–27–5.474.465W2
Wild cards
5 [c] Cleveland Browns North1160.6473–38–4.536.513L1
6 [b] [c] Miami Dolphins East1160.6474–27–5.450.358L2
7 Pittsburgh Steelers North1070.5885–17–5.540.571W3
Did not qualify for the postseason
8 [d] Cincinnati Bengals North980.5291–54–8.574.536W1
9 [d] [e] Jacksonville Jaguars South980.5294–26–6.533.477L1
10 [e] Indianapolis Colts South980.5293–37–5.491.444L1
11 [f] Las Vegas Raiders West890.4714–26–6.488.426W1
12 [f] Denver Broncos West890.4713–35–7.488.485L1
13 New York Jets East7100.4122–44–8.502.454W1
14 Tennessee Titans South6110.3531–54–8.522.422W1
15 Los Angeles Chargers West5120.2941–53–9.529.388L5
16 New England Patriots East4130.2352–44–8.522.529L2
Tiebreakers [g]
  1. 1 2 Buffalo claimed the No. 2 seed over Kansas City based on head-to-head victory.
  2. 1 2 Buffalo finished ahead of Miami in the AFC East based on head-to-head sweep.
  3. 1 2 Cleveland claimed the No. 5 seed over Miami based on conference record.
  4. 1 2 Cincinnati finished ahead of Jacksonville based on head-to-head victory. Division tie break was initially used to eliminate Indianapolis (see below).
  5. 1 2 Jacksonville finished ahead of Indianapolis based on head-to-head sweep.
  6. 1 2 Las Vegas finished ahead of Denver based on head-to-head sweep.
  7. ↑ When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.

Postseason

Schedule

RoundDateOpponent (seed)ResultRecordVenueRecap
Wild Card January 13at Kansas City Chiefs (3)L 7–260–1 Arrowhead Stadium Recap

Game summaries

AFC Wild Card Playoffs: at (3) Kansas City Chiefs

AFC Wild Card Playoffs: (6) Miami Dolphins at (3) Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Dolphins07007
Chiefs793726

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Notes

  1. ↑ Due to an injury involving Daewood Davis, the game was terminated with around eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter. [10]

References

  1. ↑ Kull, David (January 10, 2024). "Why the injury-plagued Miami Dolphins are doomed against the Kansas City Chiefs". Sportsnaut. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
  2. ↑ Kerr, Jeff (September 24, 2023). "Dolphins score 70 points in rout of Broncos, record most yards ever in game in NFL history". CBS Sports.
  3. ↑ De la Fuente, Homero; Almasy, Steve (September 24, 2023). "Miami Dolphins score 70 points and take a knee rather than take a shot at NFL scoring mark". CNN.
  4. ↑ "2023 NFL Football Attendance - National Football League - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Dolphins fire Josh Boyer after three seasons as defensive coordinator". NFL.com. January 19, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  6. ↑ Heath, Jon (February 2, 2023). "Report: Vic Fangio officially joining Dolphins after Super Bowl". Broncos Wire. USA Today. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Report: Dolphins hire Vic Fangio, make him NFL's highest-paid coordinator | Fox Sports".
  8. ↑ Louis-Jacques, Marcel; Barshop, Sarah (March 12, 2023). "Sources: Rams trading CB Ramsey to Dolphins". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Miami Dolphins make trade with L.A. Rams".
  10. ↑ Edholm, Eric (August 26, 2023). "Dolphins-Jaguars preseason game suspended after Miami WR Daewood Davis carted off with injury". NFL.com. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Dolphins 70-20 Broncos (Sep 24, 2023) Play-by-Play". ESPN. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  12. ↑ Deen, Safid. "Miami Dolphins stop short of NFL scoring record with 70-point outburst – and fans boo". USA TODAY. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Dolphins make history with 70 points and 726 yards; Bills on deck". ESPN. September 24, 2023. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  14. ↑ Titans rally to upset Dolphins 28-27 on Monday Night Football: Live updates, highlights, stats and reaction, The Athletic, December 12, 2023
  15. ↑ Mike McDaniel says Titans' comeback against Dolphins was 'hard, hard lesson' that no lead in NFL is safe, CBS Sports, December 12, 2023
  16. ↑ Game was only available to KSHB and WTVJ. Out of market on Peacock.
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